SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn. They can affect their:
- behaviour or ability to socialise, for example they struggle to make friends
- reading and writing, for example because they have dyslexia
- ability to understand things
- concentration levels, for example because they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- physical ability
Who to talk to
If you think your child may have special educational needs, contact the SEN co-ordinator, or ‘SENCO’ in your child’s school or nursery.
Contact your local council if your child is not in a school or nursery.
Your local Information, Advice and Support (IAS) Service can give you advice about SEND.
Support your child can receive
Your child may be eligible for:
- SEN support - support given in school, like speech therapy
- an education, health and care (EHC) plan - a plan of care for children and young people aged up to 25 who have more complex needs
If you or your child got support before September 2014 this will continue until your local council changes it to an EHC plan.
Our SEND Policy can be found here.